spirit monitor user guide

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Soundcraft Electron ics Ltd. 1991

All rights reserved

Issue 1

Part No. ZZ2727

Information in this manu al is subject to change w ithout notice and does not represent a

comm itment on the p art of the vend or. Soundcraft Electronics Ltd . shall not be liable for

any loss or d amage w hatsoever arising from the use of information or any error contained

in this manual.

No part of this manu al may be reprod uced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in

any form or by any m eans, electron ic, electrical, mechanical, optical, chem ical, includ ing

photocopying and recording, for any p urp ose without th e express written permission of

Soundcraft Electronics Ltd.

It is recommend ed that all maintenance and service on the prod uct should be carried ou t

by Soundcraft Electron ics Ltd. or its authorised agents. Sound craft Electron ics Ltd. cannotaccept any liability whatsoever for any loss or damage caused by service, maintenance or

repair by unau thorised p ersonnel.

Soundcraft Electronics Ltd.

Unit 2

Borehamw ood Ind Park

Rowley Lane

BorehamwoodHerts.

WD6 5PZ

England

Tel: 081 207 5050

Fax: 081 207 0194

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Use r G uid e

Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Basic Principles of Monitor Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Connections and Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Fault Find ing Gu ide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Getting to know your console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Input Channel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Ou tput Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Master Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Using your SPIRITMonitorConsole . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Initial Se t Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Care of your mixer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Selectable Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Block Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Front Panel Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . fol d out rear page

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IN TRO DUC TIO N

Congratu lations on your pu rchase of a SPIRITMonitormixer.Owning a Soundcraft console brings you the expertise and

support of one of the industrys leading manufacturers and

the resu lts of over 17 years experience supporting some of the

biggest nam es in the bu siness.

Designed by engineers who u nderstand the individu al needs

of musicians, SPIRITMonitor has been built to the highest

standards using quality components and employing auto-

mated assembly techniques beyond the reach of most

man ufactu rers of comp act mixers.

A rugged steel chassis is combined with moulded side trims

to give protection and distinctive appearance. Custom-

moulded controls, designed for the best feel and visual

clarity complement the styling, resulting in a truly profes-

sional stage mon itor mixer w hich is ideal for both tou ring and

fixed installations.

SPIRITMonitoris available in 16 and 24 channel frame sizes,

and is designed to complement the SPIRITLive range of

front- of-house consoles.

SPIRITMonitor incorporates circuit technology identical to

that used on some of the most sophisticated Soundcraft con-

soles. The inp ut channels are able to accept a w ide range of

Microphone an d Line level signals from separate input sock-

ets. Every channel features wid e range gain control, phase

reverse switch, 3-band Equalisation with swept Mid and LF

range, plus a Hi-Pass Filter, 8 Monitor Sends, PFL(Pre Fade

Listen), Peak LED and a h igh-quality linear fader.

Each of the eight Monitor Output sections is provided with a

variable high-pass filter, insert point, LED bargraph meter,

Talkback and Dim switches, a variable send to the engineers

wed ge and a high qu ality linear fader.

The master section comprises controls for PFL monitoring , en-

gineers wedge, LED bargraph meter for Wedge/ PFL and

master Talkback and Dim switches. The wed ge outp u t is pro-

vided w ith an insert point and h igh quality linear fader.

SPIRITMonitoris designed to be as user-friendly a s possible,

but a few minutes spent reading through this manual will

help you become familiar with the product away from the

pressure of a live session, and allow you to gain full benefitfrom the sup erb performance offered by your new m ixer.

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Above all, remember that your SPIRIT mixer is designed to

extend you r creativity. The more you explore the controls

and the effect they have on the sound output, the more you

will appreciate the flexibility offered by your SPIRITMonitor

mixer.

BA SIC PRINC IPLES O F M O N ITO R M IXIN G

There was a time when the P.A. system and the operator ex-isted only to increase the overall volum e of the p erformers, so

that they could be heard in a large room or above high ambi-

ent noise levels. This ju st isnt tru e any more. The soun d

system and the sound engineer have become an integral part

of the performance, and the artists are heavily dependent on

the operators skill and th e quality of the equipm ent. While

the quality of the front-of-house PA mix is of prime impor-

tance, the ability of the artists to deliver the best performance

may be directly influenced by the q uality of the stage mon itor

mix. Indeed , the monitor engineer may be required to pro-

vide a number of quite different individual monitor mixes,

often un der the most adverse conditions.

The following introduction to the basics of mixing are in-

cluded for the benefit of those users who may not have any

significant familiarity with sound equipment, and who are

baffled by the endless jargon used by engineers and artists

alike.

The M ixe r As one would expect, the main purpose of the mixer is tocombine sound s, but un der p recise and sm ooth control. The

faders provide you with total control of the final sound at

your finger tips and like an artist playing an instrument you

should listen to your fader movements, not look at your

hands.

Your SPIRITMonitormixer accepts a w ide range of inp ut sig-

nals via a microphone input, for very low level signals, or a

line inpu t, for higher level signals from, for instance, tape m a-

chines, effects processors, etc.

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The mixer is split into two sections. The Inputs receive, m atch

and process ind ividual source signals, and distributes them at

precise mix levels to a choice ofMonitor Outputs. The Mas-

ter section provides monitoring of the audio signal at many

points in the mixer, either on headphones or meters and pro-

vides ad ditional master control of talkback functions.

The Equaliser controls are the most flexible and potentially

destructive featu re of the mixer. They have a similar effect on

the frequency response of the input channel as the tone con-

trols on a hi-fi system, but with much greater precision, and

allow particular characteristics of the input signal to be em-

phasised or reduced. It is very important that you become

familiar with th e effect each control has on the sound and this

is best achieved by spend ing time listening to the effect of each

control on a well-known t rack played through the mixer.

Phase Reversal enables the operator to reverse the p olarity of

the signal entering the mixer, as a convenient w ay of checking

for incorrect w iring or p roblems with m icrophone placement.

The Monitor Sends provide a way of routing the input sig-

nals to a number of outputs, to create individual mixes for

artists foldback or add itional speaker outp uts.

Pre-Fade-Listen(PFL) allows you to monitor the signal at

man y points in the mixer. Pressing any PFL switch places thesignal at that particular point onto the headphones and the

PFL meter, to check the quality of the signal or to pin-point

problems. Using PFL will not affect the signals on the moni-

tor outputs.

Each input channel and all outputs have an Insert A gauge

jack socket, w hich is a break point in the signal path . It allow s

the signal to be taken out of the mixer, through an external

piece of equipm ent and then back into the mixer directly after

its original exit point. The Insert poin t is normally bypassed

by the A gauge jack contacts, and is only brou ght into opera -tion when a plug is inserted. Typical u ses wou ld include

Effects Processors, Limiters, additional Equalisers or Delay

units.

The terms PRE an d POST are often u sed in the context of In-

serts, Equalisers and Channel Sends, and describe whether

that facility is placed before (Pre) or after (Post) another par-

ticular section. This is explained further in the detailed

description of facilities.

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The Wedge output refers to the engineers own monitoring

output, which will typically feed a floor-mounted wedge-

shaped speaker via a su itable pow er am plifier.

The Talkback system allows the m onitor engineer to talk backto artists, either individu ally via selected m onitor outp uts, or

together using a switch on the master section.

Creating monitor m ixes on stage in close proximity to m icro-

phones demands constant awareness of the problem of

acoustic feedback. The Dim button s enable the engineer to in-

stantly lower the output level on any outputs to avoid this

problem w hile more p recise level adjustm ents are mad e.

A m ixer is often judged , amongst other factors, by the am ount

ofHeadroom available. This is a measure of the reserve avail-able to cope with sudden peaks in the input signal, without

distortion caused by Clipping, when the signal becomes so

high that it would exceed the power supply rail voltages and

is as a result limited. This comm only occur s where gain set-

tings are incorrectly set or where sources are improperly

matched to the mixer input. If the source signal is too high,

clipp ing and distortion results. If the signal is too low it be-

comes masked by the background noise which is present to

some degree in all mixers. The diagram below illu strates this

point.

If the signal level is too low it may be maskedby the noise.

Signal Noise

If the signal level is too high, clipping distortionmay occur.

ClippedSignal

Noise

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G ETTIN G STA RTED

C O NN EC TION S AN DC O NN EC TO RS

Although this may seem a simple subject,faulty connectors and

cabling are the source of most sound system problems. Correctly-

made cables of the proper type, with the right connectors for

the job will ensure peak performance from your system with

minimum noise pick-up . The following section w ill help you

to connect SPIRITMonitorcorrectly.

Two different types of audio connectors are used, 3-pin XLR

an d 14" three p ole (A gau ge) jacks. These are u sed in several

configurat ions as shown in the d iagrams below.

BalancedInput

2. Hot(+ve)

3. C old(-ve)1. Sc ree n

3 POLE (stereo) JACK

Tip

Ring

Sleeve

Hot(+ve)

Cold(-ve)

Sc reen

Left Signa l

Right Signa l

Ground

Send

Return

Screen

Tip

Ring Sleeve

Inse rt Points Line Inp ut Hea d p ho ne s

1. Sc ree n(ground)

3. Cold (ground sense)2. Hot (In phase)

Ground Comp ensatedOutput

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Ba la n c e d a n d U n b a l a n c e d

All channel inputs are balanced, i.e. there are separate

+ve(hot) and -ve (cold) wires for each signal plus a ground.

The design of the d ifferential inpu t am plifiers is such that in-

terference picked up on these wires is cancelled out. This isbecause, since both wires are in close proximity, the same in-

terference will be picked up on each w ire and balanced input

amplifiers will only amplify the difference between +ve(hot)

and -ve(cold). Any signal on both hot and cold (i.e. noise) will

not be amplified - this is known as common mode rejection

(CMR). Balanced inpu ts shou ld always have both +ve and -

ve connected or if the source is unbalanced source, the signal

should connect to +ve and the -ve pin of the input should be

shorted to ground .

Note: many m odern aud io/ mu sical instrum ents have elec-tronically balanced outputs which should not be unbalanced

by shorting one wire to ground . Always use your inpu ts bal-

anced w here possible.

All of the outp uts are ground compensated a technique w hich

provides a very effective way of optimising noise immunity,

withou t the cost and complexity of balanced outp uts. These

outp uts employ groun d comp ensation to cancel out the effects

of variation in ground potential between the mixer and other

equipment which wou ld otherwise show up as hum . If the

outp ut is dr iving a d evice or amp lifier that has an u nbalancedinpu t, connect the -ve(cold) signal to the grou nd .

Pola rity You will probably be familiar w ith th e concept of p olarity inelectrical signals and this is of particular importance to bal-

anced aud io signals. Ju st as a balanced signal is high ly

effective at cancelling ou t u nw anted interference, so tw o m i-

crophones picking u p the same signal can cancel out, or cause

serious degradation of the signal if one of the cables has the

+ve and -ve wires reversed. This phase reversal can be a real

problem when microphones are close together and youshould therefore take care always to connect pins correctly

wh en wiring au dio cables.

G ro u n d in g a n d Shielding

For op timum performan ce it is vital that all signals are refer-

enced to a solid, noise-free earthing point and that all signal

cables have their screens connected to grou nd . To avoid earth

loops, use balanced connections where possible and ensure

that all cable screens an d other signal earths are connected to

groun d only at their source and not at both ends.

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Avoid running audio cables or placing audio equipment,close to thyr istor d imm er units or pow er cables.

Noise immunity is improved significantly by the use of low

impedance sources, such as good quality professional micro-

phones or the outputs from most modern audio equipment.

Avoid cheaper high impedance microphones, which may suf-

fer from interference over long cable runs, even with

well-made cables.

Fa ult Find ing G uide Repairing a soun d m ixing console requires specialist skills, bu t

basic Fault Finding is within the scope of any u ser if a few ba-sic ru les are followed .

Get to kn ow the Block Diagram of your console (see back

of this manual)

Get to know what each component in the system is sup-

posed to do.

Learn w here to look for common trou ble spots.

+

+

+

+

+

+

- -

-

Source

Source

Source

Input

Input

Input

GNDLINK

GND SENSE

GNDLINK

GNDLINK

GROUND COMPENSATED TO BALANCED

UNBALANCED TO BALANCED

UNBALANCED TO UNBALANCED

If ground link absent, or mains earth isolated fromsource ground, then connect shield at both ends

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The Block Diagram is a representative sketch of all the com-

ponents of the console, showing how they connect together

and how the signal flows throu gh the system. Once you have

become familiar with the various component blocks you will

find the Block Diagram qu ite easy to follow and you will have

gained a valuable understanding of the internal structure of

the console.

Each Component has a specific function and only by getting

to know what each p art is supp osed to do w ill you be able to

tell if there is a genu ine fau lt! Many faults are the resu lt of

incorrect connection or control settings which may have been

overlooked.

Basic Troubleshooting is a process of applying logical

thought to the signal path through the console and trackingdow n the problem by elimination.

Swap inp ut connections to check that the sou rce is really

presen t. Check both Mic and Line inpu ts.

Eliminate sections of the channel by using the insert point

to re-route the signal to other inpu ts that are know n to be

working.

Route channels to other ou tpu ts to identify p roblems onparticu lar outpu ts or the Master section.

Compare a suspect channel with an ad jacent channel

wh ich has been set up iden tically. Use PFL to mon itor the

signal in each section.

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G ETTING TO KNO W YO UR C O N SO LE

FAC ILITIES

Refer to the fold-out front panel diagram at the rear of this

manual, which shows the control functions on the SPIRIT

Monitor. Each facility is described below, and is iden tified by

a reference num ber.

IN PUT C HA N N EL

1 . M I C R O P H O N E I N P UT

The Microp hone inpu t is via a stand ard female XLR-3 conn ec-

tor and is available when the LINE switch is released. It is

designed to accept a wide range of balanced or unbalanced

low imped ance inp ut signals.

+48V Phantom Power is available on each input microphone

socket, with an overall ON/ OFF switch at the right hand side

of the console, beside the power input socket.

Transformer-coupled dynamic microphones may be used

without causing damage, even when the +48V power is con-nected, but care must be taken when using unbalanced

sources, because of the voltage present on pins 2 and 3 of the

XLR connector.

NOTE: The microph one should always be plugged in before

switching the +48V on or off. Also you shou ld be aware that

some microphones draw an unusually large current which

may overload the power supply, resulting in distortion. Con-

sult your microphone supp lier for guidan ce if necessary.

2 . INSERT

The INSERT is a break p oint in the inp u t channel signal path.

It allows the signal to be taken out of the mixer, through an

external piece of equipment and then back into the mixer to

continu e through to the final output. The Insert is a 3-pole 14"

A gau ge Jack, which is norm ally by-passed. When a jack

plug is inserted, the signal path is broken at a point ju st after

the H i-Pass Filter, but before th e EQ section. The sign al from

the channel appears on the TIP of the plug and is returned

on the RING.

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The insert point allows limiters, comp ressors and other signal

processing units to be added as required to particular input

channels and because it is located PRE EQ, noise genera ted by

the external equipm ent may be redu ced by a small amount of

H .F. cut in th e Equ aliser.

3 . LI N E I N P U T

The LINE Inpu t is a 3-pole 14"A gauge jack socket, to accept

balanced or unbalanced line level sources when the LINE

switch(5) is pressed. Unlike the low imp edance Microph one

inpu t, this stage presents a high imp edance(>10k) to the in-

pu t signal, enabling m any typ es of instrum ents to be plugged

straight in w ithou t D.I. boxes or external preamplifiers.

4 . P H A SE REV ERSE( )

The PHASE REVERSE switch reverses the polarity of the se-

lected inpu t, providing a convenient m ethod of comp ensating

for incorrect w iring or microp hone placemen t. In some cir-

cumstances it may be found that pressing PHASE REVERSE

will help w ith feedback avoidance. The switch shou ld nor-

mally be released wh en not requ ired.

5 . LIN E SELEC T

The LINE switch selects Line inpu t w hen pressed, and Micro-phon e inpu t when released. When Line is selected the Gain

range is reduced by 20dB(see 6 below).

6 . G A I N C O N TRO L

When the Microphone input is selected this control acts as a

SENSITIVITY control cover ing a 50dB range. Cha nnel signa l

level increases as the control is turn ed clockwise. When the

Line input is selected it serves as a GAIN control, with the

scaling redu ced by -20dB from the pr inted scale. A nominal

0dB input signal will pass through at unity gain, with theknob set at the 20dB position. Some aud io equipm ent, par -

ticularly that intend ed for dom estic use, operates at a nominal

-10dBV level and an increased Gain setting w ill be requ ired.

7 . H I - PA SS FILTER

Pressing this switch inserts a 12dB per octave 100Hz Hi-Pass

Filter in th e signal path, immediately after the inpu t am plifier.

This is particularly useful on live vocals, and its use is

strongly recomm end ed, even on m ale vocals. It can also be

used for filtering out noise such as stage rum ble.

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8 . EQ U A LI S ER

The Equaliser(EQ) comp rises three sections. The up per con-trol provides H.F.(treble) boost and cut of +/ -15dB. The

lower tw o pairs of knobs are arranged as a cut/ boost control

(lower knob) of +/ - 15dB, and a SWEEP(frequ ency) control

wh ich d etermines at which frequency the boost/ cut action

will be centred . The LF sections are essent ially Swept Low

Frequency controls, covering a range from 40 to 400Hz and

providing much greater flexibility than a conventional

LF(bass) control. The MID section, with a frequency range

from 250Hz to 8kHz is particularly versatile for vocals, ena-

bling particular characteristics of the singer to be lifted or

4.0

3.0

2.0

1.0

0.0

-1.0

-2.0

-3.0

-4.020 100 1k 10k 20k

dB

Frequency/Hz

HI-Pass Filter

20.0

15.0

10.0

5.0

0.0

-5.0

-10.0

-15.0

-20.020 1k 10k 20k100

dB

Frequency/Hz

LF Section

20.0

15.0

10.0

5.0

0.0

-5.0

-10.0

-15.0

-20.020 1k 10k 20k100

dB

Frequency/Hz

MID Section

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suppressed very precisely.

9 . M O N I TO R SEN D S

These controls route the input channel signal to any one or

more Monitor bu sses and the associated Monitor Ou tpu ts, al-

lowing a num ber of comp letely different m onitor mixes to be

created. The sends are arranged as two grou ps of fou r (1-4

and 5-8) and both groups are normally fed after the channel

fader (POST FADE) and therefore follow any changes in fader

level. Either group m ay be reconfigured w ith the feed before

the channel fader (PRE FADE) by changing intern al links, and

details of this modification will be found un der Selectable Op-

tions on pa ge 25. Any Monitor Send s configur ed as PRE

FADE will be unaffected by the inp ut fader position. Allsends are muted when the ON switch (see 10 below) is re-

leased, regardless of the Pre/ Post setting.

1 0 . O N

The ON switch rou tes the channel signal to the m onitor sends,

and is positioned PRE FADER to mu te all outp uts from the re-

spective chan nel. The associated LED is illum inated w hen the

switch is pressed, showing th at the channel is active.

1 1 . PFL/ PEA K LED

When the PFL switch is pressed, the Pre-Fade signal is fed to

the headp hones and wedge outp ut, wh ere it replaces the se-

lected source. The PFL ACTIVE LED on the master section

illuminates to warn that the wedge/ phones outputs and the

meter are now responding to the PFL selection and the PFL

LED on the input channel lights to id entify the active channel.

This is a useful way of listening to any required input signal

without interrupting the monitor mixes, so that adjustments

20.0

15.0

10.0

5.0

0.0

-5.0

-10.0

-15.0

-20.020 1k 10k 20k100

dB

Frequency/Hz

HF Section

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can be mad e or problems traced .

When the PFL switch is released the LED on the channel

serves as a PEAK indicator, to warn when an excessively high

signal level is present in the channel. The signal is sampled attwo points in the channel, PRE INSERT (PRE Hi-PASS FIL-

TER), and POST EQ. The Peak LED will illuminate

approximately 4dB before clipping and therefore give warn-

ing of a possible overload even if the peaks are removed by

external equipm ent plu gged into the Insert.

1 2 . C H A N N EL FA D ER

This linear fader determ ines the proportion of the chann el in

the mixes and provides a clear visual indication of channel

level. Norm al operating position is at the 0 mark, providing10dB of gain above tha t po int if requ ired.

O UTPUT SEC TIO N S

There are eight Monitor Outpu ts, arranged in pairs. Each

Output offers iden tical facilities.

1 . M O N I TO R O U TP UTS

Each M onitor Ou tpu t is driven by a ground -comp ensated am -

plifier and fed to stand ard male XLR-3 connectors.

2 . M O N I TO R I N SERTS

These allow external p rocessing equ ipm ent to be inserted into

the monitor signal path . The 14" 3 pole A gauge jacks are by-

passed except w hen a p lug is inserted .

3 . S U B

The SUB control and associated switch and LED feed themon itor output to the engineers submix, which is the norma l

source for the headphones and wedge outpu ts. The signal is

derived before the Talkback and Dim circuitry, and the sub-

mix is therefore unaffected by either of those functions in the

Outpu t section. The subm ix feed is enabled when the ON

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switch is pressed (LED illum inated).

4 . H I - PA SS FILTER

A variable frequency filter is provided covering a range of

20Hz to 200Hz ., and this is always in circuit. This may befound useful to redu ce the level of stage-dr iven low frequency

feedback, or particularly to tailor the output frequency to

match more closely the frequency range of smaller wedge

monitor speakers which may not be able to tolerate high lev-

els of LF signal. Rotate the control fully anticlockwise when

the filter is not requ ired.

5 . TA LK BA C K

Pressing the TALKBACK switch routes the engineers talk-

back m icrophone signal to the mon itor outp ut , at the level seton the T/ B gain control on the Master section, and ind e-

pend ent of the outpu t fader level. At the same time the local

monitor mix is dimmed by approximately 6dB to allow the

engineers voice to be heard over the m ix, and th e Wedge out-

put also dims to prevent feedback through the talkback mic.

Note th at Talkback is disabled wh en DIM is pressed.

6 . D I M

Pressing the large DIM switch attenuates the monitor output

by 6dB as an immediate way of eliminating feedback whilethe source of the p roblem is identified.

7 . PFL

When the PFL switch is pressed, the Pre-Fade signal is fed to

the headph ones, replacing the norm al submix signal. The

PFL ACTIVE LED on the master section illuminates to warn

that the wedge/ phones outputs and the meter are now re-

spond ing to the PFL selection an d the PFL LED on th e inpu t

channel lights to iden tify the active chann el. This is a useful

way of listening to any required signal so that adjustmentscan be mad e or problems traced .

8 . BA RG RA P H M ETER

A sixteen segment, three colour bargraph meter monitors the

outp ut signal. The meter has a peak response, and since it

reads the final output signal it will also be affected by the

DIM switch and include any talkback signal. The bargraph

may be calibrated by a trimmer accessed via a hole in the

panel above the meter. Ad justm ents may be mad e using a

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small screwdriver, taking care not to dam age the trimm er.

9 . F A D E R

A linear fader contro ls the overall level of each outp ut . Unity

gain is at the top of the travel.

M A STER SEC TIO N

1 . D . C . PO W E R SO C K ET

The cable from the p ower sup ply connects to the console via

this 5- p in SRC connector. To the righ t of the pow er conn ec-

tor is the m aster switch for +48V Phantom Power to all inpu ts.

2 . W E D G E O U TP UT

The WEDGE output normally drives the engineers monitor

speaker via a pow er amp lifier, and wh en no PFL switches are

pressed th is is fed by the subm ix signal. The WEDGE outpu t

au tomatically switches to the PFL signal when any PFL switch

is active.

The WEDGE output always listens to the same source signal

as the head phones, bu t is also affected by DIM status and any

external connections to the Insert socket.

3 . W ED G E I N SERT

This is sim ilar to th e Inpu t Chan nel Inserts and allow external

processing equipment to be inserted into the output signal

path. The 14" 3 pole A gauge jacks are by-passed except

when a plug is inserted.

4 . P H O N E S

A standard 14" 3 poleA gauge jack for monitoring head-

phones. See the diagram on Page 8 for connection deta ils.

This output is suitable for headphones with an impedance of

400 or greater.

5 . TA LK BA C K M I C R O PH O N E SO C K ET

A stand ard fem ale XLR-3 connector is p rovided for a low im-

pedance dynam ic talkback microphone on a gooseneck moun t

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or plu gged in via a cable.

6 . BA RG RA P H M ETER

A sixteen segment, three colour bargra ph meter p rovides vis-

ual mon itoring of WEDGE/ PFL level. Norm ally the post-fadeWedge signal is displayed , un less any PFL switch is active, in

which case the PFL signal is shown. The level of the d is-

played Wedge signal follows the actual Wedge output,

including the effect of the Dim circuit if active. The bargrap h

may be calibrated by a trimmer accessed via a hole in the

panel above the meter. Ad justm ents may be mad e using a

small screwdriver, taking care not to dam age the trimm er.

7 . TA LK BA C K G A I N

Sets the level of Talkback microphone signal which may berouted to any Monitor Outpu t.

8 . A LL TA LK BA C K

Pressing the ALL T/ B switch d ims all monitor outp uts and

add s the Talkback mic signal, also dimm ing the wedge output

to prevent feedback. Note that ALL T/ B is disabled when

ALL DIM is pressed.

9 . A LL D I M

Pressing ALL DIM attenuates all outputs, except the wedge

outp ut. This provides an instant remedy for serious feedback,

wh ile the source of the p roblem is identified.

1 0 . PFL A C TIV E LED

The LED illuminates whenever a PFL switch is pressed to

show that the Wedge and Phones outputs and the

Wedge(PFL) bargrap h are now receiving the PFL signal.

1 1 . PFL TRIM

The rotary PFL TRIM control p rovides level ad justment of the

PFL signal to allow for differences in operat ing levels. The

TRIM control h as no effect on th e level of PFL signa l fed to the

Wedge(PFL) meter.

1 2 . SUB TRIM

The rotary SUB TRIM control provides level ad justment of the

engineers Submix. The TRIM is pr e-insert and p re-fader, and

will therefore affect both the level at the wedge output and

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the bargraph reading.

1 3 . H EA D PH O N E V O LU M E

The master volum e control for the w edge or PFL signal being

fed to the head phone socket (4).

1 4 . W E D G E FA D ER

The master fader for the Submix or PFL signals feeding the

USIN G YO UR SPIRIT Monitor CONSOLE

Your choice of a SPIRITMonitor console has provided youwith a p rofessional prod uct capable of top qu ality sound mix-

ing. Good results w ill however only come throu gh

experience and time spent understanding the facilities on

your console. Rehearsal sessions and live performances must

focus on the skill and creativity of the artists, wh ich mu st not

be hindered by un familiarity and difficulty w ith the operation

of the console. It is important to recognise, and learn by ex-

periment, the importance of correct choice of inputs,

microphone p lacement an d control settings, particularly w ith

respect to feedback avoidance.Suitable initial control positions are shown on th e front panel

drawing inside the rear cover.

Initia l Se t Up The diagram on page 7 demonstrated how the matching of in-pu t gain to the signal source was crucial to avoid distortion at

one extreme and excessive noise at the other. Set up ind ivid-

ual inpu t channel as follows:

Connect the inpu t required (microphone, keyboard etc.)

Note: Phantom pow ered mics should be connected beforethe +48V is switched on.

Set Ou tput faders at 0, input faders at 0, channel monitor

sends fully anticlockwise (off) and set pow er am plifier lev-

els to abou t 70%.

With a typ ical performance level signal pr esent, press the

PFL but ton on th e particular channel, mon itoring the level

on th e Wedge(PFL) meter.

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Adjust the inpu t gain unt il the meter is just reaching the

amber section (0dB) at a typ ical maximu m source level.

This allows sufficient headroom to accomm odate peaks

and establishes the maximum level for norm al operation(but see note below).

Repeat th is procedu re on other channels as requ ired.

If you cannot obtain a satisfactory setting, e.g. the gain con-

trol is right at th e extreme low end of the scale on

Microphone Inpu t, and +48V pow ering is not requ ired, try

using th e Line Inp ut instead to give an extra 20dB range.

Listen carefully for the characteristic sou nd of feedback.

If you cannot achieve satisfactory inpu t level setting with-

out feedback, check microphone and speaker p lacement

and repeat th e exercise.

Build u p the required ind ividual monitor mixes by feeding

the selected channels to the mon itor outpu ts using the

channel monitor send controls. The corresponding out pu t

faders shou ld be initially set at the 0 mark. Listen care-

fully for each component in the mix and watch the

respective outp ut m eter for any hint of overload. As more

channels are add ed to th e mix, the meters may m ove intothe red section. Ad just the overall level using the Outpu t

Faders if necessary, or back off the app ropriate channel

faders un til the level is out of the red segments.

Note: The level of any source signal in the final output is af-

fected by many factors, principally the Gain control, Channel

Fader and Outp ut Fader. You should try to use only as mu ch

microphone gain as required to achieve a good balance be-

tween signals, with the faders set as described above. If the

input gain is set too high, the channel fader will need to be

pulled down too far in compensation to leave enough travelfor successful mixing and there is a greater risk of feedback

because small fader movements will have a very significant

effect on outp ut level. If the gain is set too low, you will not

find enough gain on the faders to bring the signal up to an

adequ ate level.

M ic ro p h o n e Pla c e m e n t Careful microphone placement and the choice of a suitabletype of microphone for the job is one of the essentials of suc-

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cessful sou nd mixing.

The aim should be to p lace the m icroph one as close as ph ysi-

cally possible to the source, to cu t out u nw anted su rround ing

sounds, allow a lower gain setting on the mixer and avoid

feedback. Also a well-chosen and well-placed microphone

should n ot need any app reciable equalisation.

Input C onne c tions The monitor mixer will often share inputs with a front-of-house mixer and it is par ticu larly impor tant to ensur e that the

inpu t connections provide comp lete isolation between the tw o

consoles to avoid hum problems and possible degradation of

the signal. The provision of balanced splitter transformers or

isolating tr ansformers w ill ensure a clean signal to both con-

APPLICATIONS

The diagram below shows a typical app lication of the SPIRIT

Monitoras a stage monitor console, with inputs shared via a

splitter box with the fron t-of-house console

MICROPHONE SPLITTER

STAGE MONITORS

MIC INPUTS

PHONES/T/BMIC

ENGINEERSWEDGE

POWER

MULTICORES TOHOUSE CONSOLE

AMP RACK

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C A RE O F YO UR M IXER

G e ne ra l Pre c a utions Avoid storing or using the mixer in conditions of excessiveheat or cold, or in positions where it is likely to be subject to

vibration, dust or moisture.

Keep the mixer clean using a soft dry brush, and an occa-

sional wipe with a dam p cloth or ethyl alcohol. Do not use

any other solvents which may cause damage to paint or plas-

tic parts.

Avoid placing drinks or smoking materials on or near the

mixer. Sticky drinks and cigarette ash are frequent causes of

dam age to faders and switches.

Regular care and inspection will be reward ed by a long life

G lo ssa ry

balance the relative levels of the left and right channels of a stereo

signal.

clipping the on set of severe distortion in th e signal path , usually causedby the peak signal voltage being limited by the circu its

power supp ly voltage.

dB (decibel) a ratio of two voltages or signal levels, expressed by the

equation dB=20Log10 (V1/ V2). Adding the su ffix u denotes

the rat io is relat ive to 0.775V RMS.

DI(direct injection) the p ractice of conn ecting an electr ic musical instru men t d irectly t

the inpu t of the m ixing console, rather than to an amplifier

and loudspeaker w hich is covered by a m icrophone feeding

the console.

equaliser a d evice that allows the boosting or cutting of selected bands

of frequ encies in the signal path.

feedback the how ling soun d caused by bringing a m icroph one too close

to a loudspeaker d riven from its amp lified signal.

foldback a feed sent back to the artistes via loudspeakers or headp hones

to enable them to m onitor the sound s they are produ cing.

frequency response the var iation in gain of a device with frequency.

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(sub) group an outpu t into wh ich a grou p of signals can be mixed.

headroom the available signal range above th e nominal level before

clipping occurs.

highpass filter a filter th at rejects low frequ encies.

line level signals at a nominal level of -10 to +6dBu, usua lly com ing from a low

imped ance source.

peaking an equaliser response curve affecting only a band of frequencies

i.e. based on a band pass respon se.

PFL (pre-fade listen) a function that allows the operator to m onitor the pre-fade

signal in a channel independ ently of the m ain mix.

rolloff a fall in gain at the extremes of the frequency response.

shelving an equ aliser response affecting all frequ encies above or

below th e break frequen cy i.e. a highp ass or lowp ass derived

response.

spill acoustic interference from other sou rces.

talkback the operator speaking to the artistes or to tape via the

auxiliary or grou p outpu ts.

transient a m omentary rise in th e signal level.

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Se le c ta b le O ptions

The eight channel Monitor Sends are factory set as POSTFADE, but may be a ltered to PRE FADE in blocks of four (1-4

and 5-8) by repositioning a link on the Input PCB SC3005 as

shown below, after removing th e PCB from th e console.

R56

R54

J1

J3

J3

J1

PRE

PRE

PRE

PREJ2

J4

J4

J2

POST

POST

POST

POST

INPUT BOARD SC3005

R48

R55

C21

C28

C27

R51

R50

R47

R45

R44

L9

To change Sends 1-4 to PRE FADE carefully unsolder link J4

using the minimum of heat to avoid the possibility of tracks

lifting on th e PCB. Replace the link in p osition J3.

To change Sends 5-8 to PRE FADE carefully unsolder link J2

using the minimum of heat to avoid the possibility of tracks

lifting on th e PCB. Replace the link in p osition J1.

This operation should only be carried out by competent

technicians w ho posse ss the necessary soldering skills.

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SPEC IFIC A TIO N S

Typical Figur es for a 24 Chan nel Console

Measured RMS, 22Hz to 22kHz Band width

E . I . N .

Microphone Inpu t, -128.5dBu

ma x gain, 150R

O U TP U T N O I SE

24 channel console, -80dBu

channels sends turn ed dow n

C . M . R. R.

Measured at 1kHz

Microphone Inpu t at maximu m gain 80dB

Line Inpu t at un ity gain 50dB

D I STO RTI O N

THD measured 1kHz at +20dBu, 20Hz to 20kHz Bandw idth

Line in to Ou tpu t < 0.006%

C RO SSTA LK

Measured 1kHz Sine Wave

Chann el Send attenuat ion 90dB

Channel Fader Attenu ation 85dB

Channel ON sw itch isolation 100dB

Between any outpu ts 80dB

FREQ U EN C Y RESP O N SE

Any Input to Ou tpu t -3dB @20Hz ,(Output hi-pass filter, which is always -1dB @ 20kHz

in circuit, tu rned fully anticlockwise)

I N P UT & O U TP U T I M P ED A N C ES

Microphone Inpu t > 2k

Line Inpu t > 10k

Insert Send s 75

Insert Return s 10k

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Outputs 75

IN PUT & O UTPUT LEV ELS

Mic Inpu t Maximu m Level +10dBu

Line Inpu t Maximu m Level +30dBu

Any Ou tpu t Maximu m Level +21dBu

M ETERIN G

16 Segment LED Bargraphs

Accuracy Relative to 0dB +/ - 1dB

Dimensions

590.5

824(16 ch)

1088(24 ch)

82.8

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DIAGRAM

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spirit monitor user guide

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